Zebrafish: A Biological Model

The non-indigionous aquatic species are identified as a distinct brown or maroon, and white stripes or bands covering the head and body. Fleshy tentacles above their eyes and below the mouth; fan-like pectoral fins; long, separated dorsal spines; 13 dorsal spines; 10-11 dorsal soft rays; 3 anal spines; and 6-7 anal soft rays. An adult lionfish can grow as large as 18 inches, while juveniles may be as small as 1 inch or less. Lionfish have cycloid

It’s a beautiful day at the beach, the sun is shining down on you as you float and drift on top of the waves. As you lay there without a care in the world, you are suddenly interrupted by a massive swarm of jellyfish; also known as a bloom. Not only does this send you into sudden terror, it also causes a much bigger threat to the ecosystem below you. The excessive growth of jellyfish swarm drastically lowers the population of fish eggs in the ecosystem. Because of this, fishermen lose millions of dollars. People in local communities are figuring out ways to solve this mass production.

In a recent issue of Science Translational Medicine, researchers at Johns Hopkins University have described how to combine two forms of cancer treatment, chemotherapy and immunotherapy, to improve the outcome of glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. In experiments on mice, the researchers showed that chemotherapy delivered locally to the brain rather than systemically can preserve the strength of the immune system and allow for the use of immunotherapy.

Glioblastoma (pronounced like gleO blastoma) is an incurable brain cancer,Survival rate is usually measured in months.This became a word that was instantly defined, researched, dissected, feared, and tried to comprehend and understand by family,friends and acquaintances of Larry McKee (McKee)who was personally affected from this single word, it was quickly added to their vocabulary, because of the of the events that transpired on October 22, 2011 that forever changed lives “Glioblastomas are tumors that arise from the astrocytes- the star-shaped cells that make up the “glue-like,” or supportive tissue of the brain. These tumors are usually highly malignant (cancerous) because the cells reproduce quickly and they are supported by a large network of blood vessels.”(A.B.T A..) He was diagnosed with stage four.

Cancer, medically called ‘tumorigenesis’ (Thaker, Lutgendorf, & Sood, 2007, p.430) occurs when cells in the body orient themselves for malignant growth. Such cells show ‘self-sufficiency in growth signals’, are ‘insensitive to anti-growth signals’ and have ‘limitless replicative potential’ (Thaker, Lutgendorf, & Sood, 2007, p.430). Once a particular set of cells become malignant, the malignancy can spread to other set of cells in different organs due to ‘crosstalk’ between the affected cells and their surrounding ‘tissues’ and ‘micro-environments’(Thaker, Lutgendorf, & Sood, 2007, p.430).

     Populations of the zebra mussel, Dreissena polymorpha (Pallas), were first found in the Laurentian Great Lakes in 1988 (Hebert et al., 1989). This species is native to the Caspian, Aral, and Black Seas and the rivers that drain into them but has spread throughout Europe, principally during the 18th century. Since it is restricted to estuarine and freshwater habitats, it is presumed that it was introduced into North America by ballast waters of transoceanic vessels. Based on the substantial amount of genetic variation found in these initial populations, as estimated from electrophoretic variation of allozymes, the colonization of the Great Lakes was by a large number of immigrants and not just a few founders

Most people would not appreciate a stranger walking into their home unannounced, taking their food, and making themselves at home. That is exactly what lionfish are doing along the Florida coastline. Lionfish are an invasive species that need to be contained. The reefs that they consistently invade off of the coast of the Florida are not the lionfish's natural habitat. This invasive species takes shelter and resources out of the reef that other species need to survive, and they destroy the environment around them. Humans have complicated the balance of the ecosystem by introducing lionfish, and now they need to help rectify the situation.

Signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniasculus) is an invasive species in UK and European freshwaters which originate from North America and was introduced in Europe in the 1960s. Due its large size body and aggressive nature has threatened the native species, white-clawed crayfish (Austropotamobius pallipes). Aggressive behaviour is bolder in signal crayfish species, which is directed also against conspecifics not only against other species (Pintor, Sih and Bauer 2008). Signal crayfish is widespread across the British Islands; predominantly inhabiting south-west part where for the first time was introduced. The motility of signal crayfish depends of temperature, and is higher during the summer period (Bubb, Thom and Lucas, 2004). Signal crayfish

A venomous marine fish, known as the Lionfish, is native to tropical regions in the Indo-Pacific Ocean. In 1992 Hurricane Andrew tore through South Florida and was labeled the most destructive hurricane in the history of the United States. The category five storm is thought to have caused the accidental introduction of the species into FLorida. An aquarium was devastated by the winds, and released several Lionfish into Biscayne Bay. That, along with owners who became dissatisfied with the animals after realizing they’d eat other fish, and ignorantly set them free in the Atlantic, allowed the organisms to populate the waters very quickly.

This history will lead kids and adults to navigate the waves of imagination, on an exciting adventure, which begins on the seabed and culminates with a fight for life between brave goldfish, captured by a fishing net, and his enemy – the terrible Mr. Cat.

On April 14, 2012, my husband was diagnosed with a Glioma Brain Tumor. Even three and a half years after his diagnosis, I still don’t really know much about Gliomas, so I have decided to research this topic.

Glioblastoma(GB) is the most common primary malignant solid brain tumor in adults1. Known for its aggressive characteristics and poor prognosis, the median survival rates of GB patients remain less than 18 months2,3. Tumor relapse owing to chemotherapeutic resistance is almost universal and GB is no exception, thus reflecting in high mortality and morbidity rates4. The WHO 2016 classification of brain tumors identifies GB tumors based on histology, molecular and genetic characterization into defined transcription profiles such as classical, neural, pro-neural and mesenchymal types5. Additionally, the commonly occurring genetic aberrations of primary GB are amplifications/mutations of EGFR, PDGFRA, PTEN, and of secondary GB are IDH1, MDM2

The lionfish lives in tropical reefs and rocky crevices. They only live in salt water. they mainly eat shrimp, crabs, and fish. The lionfish is not on the endangered list. They are red, white, brown, orange, and black with a striped body and long spines. Since they are a type of fish they have scales.

The homeostasis of the brain depends heavily on efficient energy metabolism. A number of studies have shown the role of inflammatory mediators such as nitric oxide, NF-κB, and proinflammatory cytokines play a key role in the impairment central nervous system function, thereby leading to the development of several neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative disorders. Although not much emphasizes has been made in understanding the role of neural-immune aspect of inflammatory mediators and leukocytes infiltration in the development of glioblastoma. Therefore, understanding the role of choroid plexus and leukocytes infiltration and its association with energy metabolism in cancer will lead us in understanding the role of neural-immune interaction in the development of glioblastoma. Dr. Ellora Sen’s research work has caught my attention with her work on neuroinflammation and metabolism in glioblastoma. I believe my previous research experience in working in the area of neuroimmunology, metabolism and cancer make me a suitable candidate for this position and I would enjoy the opportunity to work in this project

The zebrafish model is developed for studying the Phase II drug-metabolizing enzymes to investigate how the SULTs work during developmental process. In our laboratory, we identified nineteen distinct zebrafish SULTs enzymes. In this research, a novel zebrafish SULT5A1 was identified, cloned, purified, and characterized. The results obtained from substrate specificity studies showed that the zebrafish SULT5A1 exhibited strong sulfating activities toward 5α-cyprinol, 5β-cyprinol, 5β- scymnol, 5β-cholestantriol, PZ, and 5α-lithocholic acid, among a panel of bile alcohols and bile acids compounds that were tested as substrates. It also displayed significant sulfating activities toward endogenous compounds, including DHEA and pregnenolone which